Mark of the Thief by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Mark of the Thief

Author: Jennifer A. Nielsen

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Published: Feb. 2015

ISBN13: 9780545561549

Hardcover: 352 pages

FTC FYI: Received a hardcover copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads Summary

When Nic, a slave in the mines outside of Rome, is forced to enter a sealed cavern containing the lost treasures of Julius Caesar, he finds much more than gold and gemstones: He discovers an ancient bulla, an amulet that belonged to the great Caesar and is filled with a magic once reserved for the Gods -- magic some Romans would kill for.

Now, with the deadly power of the bulla pulsing through his veins, Nic is determined to become free. But instead, he finds himself at the center of a ruthless conspiracy to overthrow the emperor and spark the Praetor War, a battle to destroy Rome from within. Traitors and spies lurk at every turn, each more desperate than the next to use Nic's newfound powers for their own dark purposes.

In a quest to stop the rebellion, save Rome, and secure his own freedom, Nic must harness the magic within himself and defeat the empire's most powerful and savage leaders.

My Review

Jennifer is the author of one of my all-time favorite series, The Ascendance Trilogy, so I knew I was going to love this new book/series from this talented author, and I did.  I loved the characters, the setting (Ancient Rome, so cool), the magic, and Nic especially.  His is a fascinating character, who just wants to makes things right, but has a stubborn streak in him too, and sometimes that gets him into trouble.  I enjoyed the twists and turns, and the non-stop action.  The ending especially was gut-wrenching.  Poor Nic is put through the ringer in many situations, all to try to protect and find his sister, Livia.  Everyone who "helps" Nic, though, has their own agenda and once you think you have it figured out, well... you'll have to read it for yourself.

5 out of 5 stars.  The next book, Rise of the Wolf, will be out at the end of January 2016.  I know I can always count on a solid, well-written book from Jennifer.  Jennifer also has another book out now, A Night Divided, that I will be reviewing soon.

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Caretaker by Josi Russell

Caretaker 

Author: Josi Russell

Publisher: Future House Publishing

Published: Sept. 2015

ISBN13: 9780989125383

Paperback: 325 pages

FTC FYI: I received an ebook copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads Summary

Fifty years in space—alone.

Ethan Bryant was supposed to fall asleep on a ship leaving Earth and wake up fifty years later with his family on the planet Minea. Instead, after the ship’s caretaker—the lone human in charge of monitoring the ship’s vital systems—suddenly died, the ship’s computer locked Ethan out of his stasis chamber and gave him the job. That was five years ago. Five years of checking to make sure everything runs smoothly on a ship Ethan knows almost nothing about.

Who wouldn’t dread the years ahead? Who wouldn’t long for their once-bright future now stolen away?

Ethan is resigned to his fate, until the ship suddenly wakes up another passenger: a beautiful engineer who, along with Ethan, soon discovers a horrible secret—a navigation room hidden from even the ship’s computer. The ship is not bound for Minea—but to somewhere far more dangerous.

With the ship nearing its sinister destination, Ethan soon learns he is the only one who holds the key to saving all 4,000 passengers from a highly-advanced, hostile alien race. 

My Review

I met the author at an Authorpalooza and was intrigued by this book.  The cover is very striking and eye-catching.  The story is absolutely fascinating and I loved Ethan.  The events that lead to him being the Caretaker were page-turning and exciting, but most of those whys and hows to him being caretaker, we don't find out about until later (which I liked).  I enjoyed how the author worked in the back story of Ethan and his family and especially how he learned a mysterious language.  I don't want to give away the plot at all, but there are many twists to the story that really added to the plot and changed his life on the ship.  Which actually turns out to be more of an upheaval than a change.

4 out of 5 stars.  Great book with fantastic characters and an enjoyable plot.  I look forward to reading more from this author.

Author Links

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